


A Change in Regime

by QueenieLacy



Series: Lose Control [12]
Category: Black Panther (2018), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Adult Language, Alternate Universe, Blood and Injury, Chains, Cutting, Explicit Language, Graphic depictions of violence - Freeform, Kidnapped Erik, Kidnapping, M/M, Stabbing, Torture, drugged, kidnapped shuri
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2020-04-23 05:24:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19144429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenieLacy/pseuds/QueenieLacy
Summary: While visiting the Outreach Center in Oakland, the Royal Family of Wakanda is attacked.





	A Change in Regime

“Ugh, fuck…” N’Jadaka moaned as he came to consciousness. He reached up to rub at his temples as he squeezed his eyes together. His felt a horrible pain in his head and was sure he had some sort of concussion or other head injury. N’Jadaka slowly opened his eyes and was met with a blurry sight. He blinked rapidly until his eyes focused on the ceiling above him and quickly noticed the ceiling was different from the one at the hotel. The hotel ceiling was painted white and this one was grey. 

N’Jadaka then noticed he was laying on a very hard surface that definitely couldn’t be the mattress back at the hotel, or the floor since there was no carpet. He moved his hands from his torso and to the ground. His hand patted the surface and felt concrete beneath him. At first, this confused N’Jakada. He didn’t remember seeing any concrete flooring in their suite, but the fuzziness in his brain cleared and his eyes widened in realization.

 

He’d been kidnapped. 

 

N’Jadaka closed his eyes to concentrate on the events of the day. It started off normal. He had breakfast with T’Challa and Shuri in their suite. T’Challa had to wrap up some business and asked if he wanted to attend a few meetings with him, but Shuri begged him to go out with her. T’Challa agreed since he didn’t want his sister going off alone because he knew she would shake off her guard and get into trouble. N’Jadaka quickly agreed to be Shuri’s personal tour guide around the city since he rather do that then go to anymore boring meetings. 

T’Challa gave him a kiss good-bye and said he was hoping to get done early. He left the suite with Ayo and N’Jadaka turned to focus on Shuri. The genius already had a list of spots she wanted to visit and what order they should visit them in for maximum efficiency. N’Jadaka agreed with her plan and the two left the suite with Lesedi, their Dora for the trip. 

N’Jadaka followed the hyperactive princess around the city, visiting the famous sites that he was all too familiar with. It make him happy to see Shuri so excited about everything, running from here to there and everywhere in between. He realized this was the first time he ever saw her act her true age. It was easy to forget in the day-to-day life of running a country that she was still a child, learning new things and discovering herself. N’Jadaka didn’t mention how childish she was when she demanded he buy cotton candy. Instead, he allowed her to act her age. He took pictures of her and the occasion selfie. She even managed to get Lesedi in a picture. Everything was going well. They were almost done with everything on Shuri’s list when...everything went black.

N’Jadaka’s eyes shot open and he quickly sat up, feeling a wave of dizziness after moving so quickly. “Shuri!” He gasped and then turned his head to look around the room. His eyes quickly noticed the body of a female laying a few feet from him. Her back was to him, so he couldn’t see her face, but he recognized the clothing as Shuri’s, she was wearing that when they left the hotel. 

He scrambled across the concrete floor, crawling on all fours over to the princess. “Shuri.” He called out again as he settled next to her. He carefully turned her over, onto her back. He noticed there were no bruises or cuts to her face or hands. She hadn’t been abused, but she was unconscious like he had been. He gently reached down and gave her cheek a pat. “Shuri, Shuri.” He repeated her name until the princess let out a groan.

“Shuri.” N’Jadaka repeated. “Shuri, wake yo’ ass up.” He demanded.

“N’Jadaka?” Shuri groaned as her hand came up to her forehead. “My head.” She moaned out in pain as she rubbed her forehead.

“I know, I know.” N’Jadaka said. “Come on, sit up...slowly.’ He took her arms and helped her sit up. He watched as she opened her eyes and they started to look around the room.

“What? Where are we?” She questioned as she looked around the unfamiliar room.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” N’Jadaka asked. 

“Um…” Shuri stopped to think, pushing past her headache to concentrate. “We were walking down the street to the clothing store and...now, I am here.” She said and gasped. “N’Jadaka! Someone took us!” She yelled and N’Jadaka quickly reached up, placing his hand over Shuri’s mouth.

“Ssh.” He shushed her. “Keep it down, don’t know who’s listening.” He said as he looked around the room. He didn’t see any cameras, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there. 

“Oh, Bast.” Shuri said as she felt around in her pockets. “They took my phone.”

“They smart, we can’t be tracked.” N’Jadaka reasoned and looked at his wrist. His watch was gone. “They took anything that had a battery.”

“Where is Lesedi?” Shuri asked as she looked around the room. 

N’Jadaka shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s only us in here.” He answered and Shuri swallowed hard. “She a beast. She’s aight.” He quickly added, trying to make Shuri feel better. He then moved to stand on his feet, the dizziness he felt earlier was gone. Shuri also moved to get up and he helped the genius get to her feet.

“We were drugged.” Shuri claimed as she stood. 

“How can you be sure?” N’Jadaka asked. 

“There is a hole in your neck.” She said and reached up to touch the small hole on the side of his neck. “It wasn’t a small needle.” Shuri added before pulling her hand back. 

“How the hell did they stick us in broad daylight?” N’Jadaka questioned. “Someone had to see.”

“They probably used something else in public.” Shuri said and N’Jadaka nodded. “The needle was probably an extra measure.” She reasoned. 

“The walls are concrete.” N’Jadaka said as he turned away from Shuri. He walked over to the wall and touched it. “Fuck.” He swore. If the wall were wood or another softer material, he knew he could eventually kick a hole in the wall big enough form Shuri to fit through. He walked over to the door that kept them locked in the room. His fingertips ran over the cold steel. “Door is steel.” He called out and turned back to Shuri.

“There is no breaking it down.” Shuri reasoned. There was no way they could get out of this with no tools to use. “What are we going to do?” 

Before N’Jadaka could answer her question, the question was answered for them. N’Jadaka turned to face the door where he heard the lock click. The door started to slowly open and N’Jadaka quickly made his way back over to Shuri. “Get behind me.” He stated before stepping in front of Shuri, shielding her from whom ever was coming into the room.

The two royals watched as four men entered the room. They were all black. N’Jadaka looked them over as the entered. The one in the front had to be the ringleader. He was large man, taller and more muscular than him. He was completely bald and wore all black. The one to the far left looked about N’Jadaka’s age. He had braids and wore black like their leader. The one next to him looked like his could be his twin and N’Jadaka wondered if they were brothers. The last one had dreads like N’Jadaka and wore a smirk on his face that N’Jadaka wanted to smack off. 

“Who are you?” Shuri questioned and N’Jadaka turned his head to look at her, silently telling her to shut the fuck up.

The bald man chuckled. “That is not important.” He started. “What is important is that we know who you are, princess.” He smiled and N’Jadaka turned back to face him.

“You know who we are.” N’Jadaka started. “So what can we do for you? What chu’ want?” He asked as his fist clenched. N’Jadaka tried to keep his cool, but he knew he was close to punching this nigga in the face. 

The bald man let out a chuckle as he turned to look at his partners. He then turned back to N’Jadaka and smirked. “What do we want?”

“Yeah.” N’Jadaka responded. 

“We want to play game.” The man responded. 

“A game?” Shuri questioned.

“That is correct, princess. A game.” The man said as he looked between them. “So...who’s up first?”

“N’Jadaka…” Shuri spoke softly as she watched him step forward, she reached out to grab his shirt as he approached the bald man.

“I’ll play.” N’Jadaka started. “But only me. You betta not touch her.” He had a bad feeling about this game and didn’t want Shuri to get hurt. He could handle anything they threw at him, but Shuri was just a child. He wouldn’t allow her to be scarred. 

The man nodded. “That’s fine with me. Take him .”

“N’Jadaka!” Shuri yelled, clutching his shirt tighter as the other three men surrounded him. 

N’Jadaka turned to look at Shuri, the princess never letting go of his shirt. “Shuri, let go.” He demanded. 

“No!” She yelled and pulled him as the other three men grabbed N’Jadaka and started to pull him away. 

“Shuri, let go! Imma be okay! It’s gonna be okay!” He yelled as the men yanked him back. 

Shuri’s grip slipped as N’Jadaka was yanked away from her. “N’Jadaka!” She yelled and tried to run for him, but the steel door was quickly closed him her face. “N’Jadaka!” She yelled and beat on the door, kicking it with her feet and slamming on the door with her palm. “Do not hurt him! Please! N’Jadaka! N’Jadaka!”

* * *

 

“How did this happen!” T’Challa yelled as he paced back and forth in the suite’s living room. He placed a shaky hand to his temple as he walked back toward the couch. Nakia was in the suite along with two other War Dogs that were in the area. Ayo was tending to Lesedi, holding an ice pack to her head.

“I do not know, my king.” Lesedi started. “One moment we were all walking and the next, I was waking up in that alley.” She explained, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t spotted a threat around them. How could she have missed it? 

“Where are they?” T’Challa questioned, looking toward Nakia,

“I cannot track them.” Nakia said sadly as she typed at her tablet.

“What do you mean you cannot track them?” T’Challa asked, wide-eyed and bewildered at her statement. 

“Their electronics are all off line. Cellphone, smartwatches, everything that would give us a location...it’s all disabled.” Nakia explained. 

“This was professional.” Kwame added. He’d been a War Dog for a decade. He typically operated in Canada, but came down to assist Salim in an investigation. “Salim, do you think this has something to do with that message?”

“What message?” T’Challa asked and turned to Salim. He was a relatively new War Dog, but he proved to be a hard worker and his loyalty to the crown was unwavering. 

“One of my contacts down in Mexico.” Salim began. “Said someone back home felt threatened.”

“Threatened?” T’Challa questioned. “By what?”

Salim shrugged. “I do not know. They said they were unsure, but they had a feeling something was about to happen. It confused me so I asked Kwame to meet me here. We were going to conference with Nakia about it.”

“You think this is the something?” Nakia asked. 

Salim nodded. “I believe so.” 

“If someone feels threatened…” They all turned to look over at Ayo. “Then they will do whatever they can to remove the threat.” She reasoned and T’Challa let out a loud growl. He hated how much she was making sense right now. It was in a person’s nature to remove in threat or potential threat. If this person saw N’Jadaka and Shuri as threats, then that meant this person wanted them to be removed. Removed could mean moved far away from his reach, but it could also mean...death. Either way, this person never wanted them to return home. He felt it hard to keep his composure in front of everyone. He let out another frustrated growl and slammed his fist down on the table.

“My king, we will do everything to find them.” Kwame stated. “We will bring them home.” He added. He could see how hurt and worried his king was. He would bring the princess and N’Jadaka home even if that meant he had to die in return. 

“I got it.” Nakia exclaimed as she typed on her finger. 

“What?” Salim asked. 

“I hacked into the the red-light camera database. “ She said. “Lesedi, I need to know where you all went to day.” Nakia said.

Ayo helped Lesedi over to the computer and they call gathered around Nakia as Lesedi recounted their day. She told Nakia about all of their stops on their walk around the city. Soon, Nakia was able to spot them on one of the camera.

“There.” Nakia said and pointed to Lesedi on the camera. Her back was to the camera, but Nakia could tell it was her. She was right behind Shuri and N’Jadaka was to her left. “Where did you go after this?” Lesedi told her and Nakia was able to follow the trio on the cameras. Everyone watched as the three turned right and walked down the street. They were the only ones on that side of the street. Nakia changed cameras and now she could see their faces.

They all looked normal. The trio wasn’t under any duress. She could tell Shuri was laughing at something N’Jadaka said and it looked like N’Jadaka was eating out of a bag of chips. Everything was fine until the stepped in front of an alleyway. As they stepped in front of the alley, the trio stopped walking. They all gasped as they watched the trio start to fall to the ground, as if they were all fainting. Before they could hit the ground, three men appeared out of the alley and quickly pulled them into the dark alleyway. 

“Oh, Bast.” Lesedi gasped.

“This is why you woke up in an alley.” Ayo stated. 

“Can you see their faces?” T’Challa asked, trying to get a better look at the kidnappers. Nakia zoomed in and cleared up the video to see if she could get a better look.

“No, they have something on their faces. A mask I believe.” Nakia spoke. She could only see their eyes, all of them brown.

“Are there cameras in that alley?” The king asked and Nakia tried to get a view of the alley, but couldn’t. 

“None of the cameras get a shot into the alley.” She said and let out a frustrated groan. “Come on computer. Come on.” She mumbled to herself as she tried to work her magic. She was no Shuri but she knew her way around technology. 

“It does not make any sense.” Salim said out loud.

“What?” Kwame questioned. 

“Why leave Lesedi in the alley?” Salim questioned. 

“She wasn’t a threat to this person.” Ayo reasoned. 

“But she is.” Salim stated. “There was no guarantee that she did not see them. What if she saw them before they made them faint?” Salim questioned. “Whatever they drug them with is obviously not a memory eraser. Lesedi remembered everything up until she passed out. If she saw them, she could have told us and ruined their plan. It was a big risk to leave her.” He reasoned.

Kwame’s eyes widened in realization. “They left her because they wanted us to know...or well, they wanted the king to know.”

“Why?” T’Challa questioned. “Why would they want me to know? That makes no sense. I am the Black Panther.”

“That is exactly why they want you to know.” Ayo interrupted her king as it dawned on her. “Only one of them is the real threat. The other is a decoy.”

“You are meant to rescue the other.” Kwame finished her thought.

“If that is true.” Nakia started. “Then they must have purposely left a trail so we could find them.” Nakia reasoned. 

T’Challa nodded at their words. “We need to get to the alley to see if they left anything behind.”

* * *

 

“Ah!” N’Jadaka groaned as another punch landed in his midsection. He’d been brought to another room in what he would call a dungeon. The four men easily overpowered him and stripped him of his clothes. His arms were raised and cuffed to chains hanging from the ceiling. His feet were then cuffed by the chains on the floor. N’Jadaka was locked in place as the men treated him like their personal punching bag. He was sure a few ribs were broken and if he didn’t already have internal bleeding, he would soon.

“Uh, shit.” He groaned as a punch landed on his back. He hadn’t even noticed anyone behind him. He looked up to see the bald man staring back at him.

“So, you are the king’s whore?” The man said as he pulled a knife from his pocket. “I was expecting someone more...sophisticated.” He admitted as he opened the pocket knife, revealing the blade.

N’Jadaka swallowed hard before speaking. “He likes hood niggas.” He answered and that made the bald man chuckle.

“What is that old saying?” The man asked. “The good ones always go for the bad boys.” He answered and placed the blade under N’Jadaka’s chin. N’Jadaka started back at him, looking the man in his eyes. The man smirked at N’Jadaka’s toughness. “You lack fear.”

“I fear no man.” N’Jadaka answered and the man chuckled. 

“You should.” He said before quickly moving the knife from N’Jadaka’s chin. He quickly ran the knife across N’Jadaka’s chest.

“Ah!” N’Jadaka yelled as the man swiped the knife across his chest. The cut wasn’t deep enough to cause major damage. He wasn’t even sure if he would bleed much, but it stung badly. 

“I mean, you should have.” He corrected himself. “If you did, you wouldn’t be here.” 

N’Jadaka forced out a chuckle, laughing through his pain. “You should be afraid.”

“Me?” He questioned. 

N’Jadaka nodded. “When T’Challa finds out, you’ll beg for death.”

“You are just the king’s whore.” The man responded. “I doubt he spends too much time looking for you.”

“Maybe so.” N’Jadaka answered, knowing the man was trying to get in his head. “But he loves Shuri. He’d do anything for her.” He reminded the man. “You think he’s gonna like you takin’ his lil sis.”

“She will be fine.” The man promised. “You, on the other hand…” He trailed off as he placed the knife to N’Jadaka’s shoulder, over T’Challa’s claim mark. “You will be the one wishing for death.” He spoke before slicing at N’Jadaka’s skin.

“AH!” N’Jadaka screamed as the man cut his skin away from his body, as if were slicing the skin away from an animal. He could feel the skin on his shoulder separating and lifting from him. Tears slipped from his eyes as the pain seared through his shoulder and upper back. 

The man stepped back and N’Jadaka looked up to see the man holding his skin. His eyes widened as he realized the man cut T’Challa’s claiming mark off him. The man shook the skin in front of his face, grossly teasing him before throwing the skin to the ground. “Do you think he’ll want you now?” The man asked as N’Jadaka struggled to breath. The pain was great and N’Jadaka knew he was close to passing out, but he fought it. He didn’t want to pass out, he wanted to know everything they did to him.

The man walked around N’Jadaka, taking the place of his partner at N’Jadaka’s back. “AH!” N’Jadaka yelled as the man’s knife dug into his ass, craving lines across both cheeks. He could feel the blood running down from his butt on to his legs. N’Jadaka tried to move as he felt the man spread his cheeks, but it was no use. He didn’t even budge. Tears fell faster as he knife cut above his entrance and then below. 

“You’re useless now.” He felt the man’s lips at his ear. “No one will want you.” He said before moving away. He walked back to face N’Jadaka’s front and held out his knife to his partners. “Who wants to play next?

* * *

 

T’Challa, Kwame, Salim, and Ayo walked into the alleyway where N’Jadaka and Shuri had been kidnapped from. Nakia stayed back at the hotel to work the computers and keep an eye on Lesedi. They didn’t know what she was drugged with and didn’t want her to be alone in case she had a negative reaction to the drug.

“Keep your eyes open.” T’Challa ordered. “Anything could be a clue.” He added as he walked down the alley. As the seconds ticked by, he could feel his resolve breaking. He felt like he would go crazy if he didn’t find Shuri and N’Jadaka in the next five minutes. His panther was begging to be unleashed, wanting to torture the ones that took his sister and lover. He had to keep that at bay, needing to concentrate on finding a clue and not all of the things he was going to do to the kidnappers when he found them. 

“I think I found something.” Kwame called out. T’Challa ran over to the others to see what the were looking at. It looked like an old advertisement.

“Brown’s Shoes. What is that?” Salim asked. T’Challa pulled out his phone and called Nakia, placing her on speaker so everyone could hear.

“I need you to look up a Brown’s Shoes in the area.” He said after Nakia answered. He could hear the keyboard clicking in the background as she quickly typed. 

“There was a Brown’s Shoes.” Nakia answered.

“Was?” T’Challa questioned. 

“Yes, it went out of business last year.” She explained.

“Did they have a store in a quiet area?” Salim asked. “Somewhere secluded?” They could hear Nakia typing quickly on her computer. They could hear her let out a frustrated sigh before speaking.

“No.” She started. “But they had a factory that was a bit outside the city.” Nakia answered. “It is listed for sale but so far, no one has bought it.” She added.

“An empty factory would be a good place to hide someone.” Ayo reasoned. 

“Send me that address.” T’Challa ordered.

“I already did.” Nakia said as she sent the address to her king. “Bring them home safe.”

“I plan on doing just that.”

* * *

 

T’Challa easily ripped the front door off the factory and stepped inside, his suit on as he stepped inside. Once he received the address, the group made their way to the empty factory as fast as they could. The king didn’t take the time to strategize once they arrived. Instead, he walked right up to the closest entrance and ripped the door off the hinges. There was no time to stop and think up a plan. He had to find his sister and his lover. The others followed their king’s lead, not daring to stop him or question his methods.

They followed behind their king as they all made there way through the hallway. As they reached a room, one of them would open the door to look inside to find the missing royals. The rooms had been empty so far. As they moved deeper into the factory, T’Challa’s sensitive hearing picked up on noise. He moved at a quicker pace toward the noise and as he got closer, he realized it was crying. 

He ran toward the cries, leaving the others behind as he rounded a corner and moved down the hall. He soon was standing in front of a large steel door. He could definitely hear someone behind it. T’Challa reached for the handle and yanked, easily pulling the steel door open. “Shuri!” He exclaimed as he ran into the room, letting his mask down so his face was revealed. 

“Brother!” She yelled as T’Challa kneeled next to her. She threw herself into her brother’s arms and T’Challa held her close to his chest. “ Oh brother, N’Jadaka.” She started and T’Challa loosed his hold so he could moved back to look at him. Her cheeks were wet with tears and her eyes red from crying so much. “They took N’Jadaka.” She struggled to say through tears.

“Who? Where?” T’Challa questioned. 

“I don’t know.” She answered. “Four men came and asked if we wanted to play a game.” She started to explained. “N’Jadaka said he would play as long as they didn’t hurt me. The bald man agreed and then they took him.” Shuri burst into tears after she explained the situation. T’Challa could hear the others finally catching up to him and entering the room.

“Princess!” They gasped and Ayo ran over to the girl, kneeling down next to her. 

“Do not worry Shuri, I will find him.” T’Challa promised before placing a kiss on Shuri’s forehead. T’Challa looked over at Ayo. “Get Shuri out of here.”

“Yes, my king.” Ayo answered and went to gather up Shuri. T’Challa stood and walked toward the door. 

“You two go with Ayo and Shuri.” T’Challa ordered Kwame and Salim. “I will handle it from here.”

“Yes, my king.” The two War Dogs answered, even though they didn’t agree with the choice. They watched their king remark himself before running out of the small room. The two men turned back toward the princess, they needed to focus her now.

* * *

 

“What was that?” The man with braids asked as they heard a loud clunk. The bald man looked at his watch and swore.

“Fuck, they’re ahead of schedule.” He said and let out a sigh. “We gotta get out of here.” 

“But, he’s not dead.” The other man said as he pointed at N’Jadaka.

“Yeah, but we’ll be dead if the Black Panther finds us.” The bald man reasoned. “Let’s go.” He ordered. The other men got their things together while the bald man gave N’Jadaka a once over. The man was barely conscious, hanging on by a thread. “Today’s your lucky day...until we meet again.” He said and then ran off with the rest of his guys. 

It wasn’t long before T’Challa found the room. He stopped in the doorway and let his mask down, eyes wide as he looked at his lover tied down and abused. The metallic smell of blood hits his nose as he sets into the room. He can see all of the cuts and bruises on his skin. His mouth dropped when he saw the skin on his shoulder completely ripped away. “Oh, N’Jadaka.” He said as he moved over to his lover, tears threatening to fall. 

He easily broke the chains away from N’Jadaka’s feet. He then reached up and ripped the chains from the wall, releasing N’Jadaka. T’Challa pulled his lover into his arms before he could fall and then shifted him so T’Challa could carry him bridal style.

“Mmh.” N’Jadaka groaned as T’Challa started to walk out of the room. 

“It is okay now. I am here.” T’Challa assured him as he walked into the hall. 

“Cha-la?” N’Jadaka struggled to say his head lying against T’Challa’s shoulder.

“Yes, it is me.” T’Challa quickly answered and clutched N’Jadaka tighter to his chest. “You are safe now.”

“Sh-Shuri?” He questioned, barely above a whisper. If he didn’t have his sensitive hearing, he wouldn’t have been able to hear him.

“She is fine and unharmed.” T’Challa answered as he moved quickly toward the exit.

“G-G-ood.” N’Jadaka said before his word went black.

* * *

 

N’Jadaka slowly opened his eyes and allowed them to focus as he come back to the conscious world. He first noticed that he could see through the ceiling into the outer space around the room he was in. He then noticed how he wasn’t in pain, and how wrong that was. He could remember everything that happened to him, how the four men tortured him for hours on end. He could remember their fist colliding with his skin and their knives cutting his flesh. N’Jadaka knew he should be in unimaginable pain, but he wasn’t. That wasn’t right so this meant he was either dead or back in Wakanda.

“Uh.” N’Jadaka cleared his throat and then swallowed to wet his dry throat. 

“N’Jadaka.” T’Challa exclaimed as his lover cleared his throat. He watched as N’Jadaka turned his head to face him. T’Challa smiled as he reached over to cup N’Jadaka’s cheek. “I’m so happy you are awake...hold on.” T’Challa quickly stood from his seat and went over to a small gadget Shuri installed in the room. When he turned around, N’Jadaka saw that the king was holding a small cup. T’Challa moved back to his spot and sat down in his seat before reaching into the cup and pulling out a small ice chip. N’Jadaka quickly opened his mouth and welcomed the glorious ice chip to soothe his dry throat. He never knew he could love ice so much.

“How long was I out?” N’Jadaka questioned before allowing T’Challa to pop another ice chip in his mouth.

“Three days.” T’Challa answered.

“Damn.” N’Jadaka swore. He knew he was in bad condition but didn’t think he would be out for so long.

“The doctors put you under.” T’Challa explained. “So you would heal quicker.” After finding Shuri and N’Jadaka, T’Challa made preparations to head back to Wakanda. As soon N’Jadaka was stable enough to travel, they boarded an airship back to Wakanda. T’Challa knew N’Jadaka would get better care in Wakanda and heal faster. He was rushed from the ship to the medical lab where he was cared for. The head doctor made the decision to keep N’Jadaka under so he would heal faster and wouldn’t feel any more pain. “I am so glad you are awake.” He added before leaning down to softly kiss N’Jadaka’s lips. “I was so worried.”

N’Jadaka returned the kiss and smirked. “Yeah...they fucked me up pretty bad.” He admitted. “I gotta few licks in tho.”

T’Challa chuckled at his comment. “I will find them and bring them to justice.” He promised before putting the cup down and then reaching out to take N’Jadaka’s hand. “I am so sorry.”

“Don’t. It’s no yo’ fault.” N’Jadaka stopped the king. He didn’t want him to feel guilty for this.

T’Challa shook his head. “I am suppose to keep you safe.” He explained. “How can I keep a country safe if I cannot even take care of one person?” T’Challa questioned his abilities. Maybe he wasn’t worthy enough to be the Black Panther.

“Stop, you dumbass.” N’Jadaka started. “Imma grown ass man. I got me and you a great king and Black Panther. This ain’t on you. Believe dat.” He insisted as he squeezed T’Challa’s hand. “Neva doubt yo’ self.” He added softly. He could see the doubt lingering behind the king’s brown eyes. N’Jadaka would have to find a way to get rid of that doubt. A few silently moments passed between them before N’Jadaka’s eyes widened and he gasped.

“Shuri!” N’Jadaka gasped and shot up, sitting up in the bed. “Oh my God, Shuri!” He yelled and tried to get out of the bed.

“Stop N’Jadaka.” T’Challa stood up and grabbed N’Jadaka’s hips to stop him from hopping off the bed. “Shuri is fine. She is okay.” He repeated as N’Jadaka started to calm down.

N’Jadaka swallowed hard. “Did they hurt her?” He questioned in a quiet voice.

“No, she was not hurt.” T’Challa answered. “I will call her to come down.” The king figured N’Jadaka needed to see Shuri before he would truly relax.

“Yeah, thanks.” He said and watched T’Challa walk out of the room. He sighed as slid off the bed to stand on his feet, raising his arms over his head to stretch. He made his way over to the small mirror that sat on the table in the room. He picked up the mirror with his leg hand and pulled his shirt off his shoulder with the other hand. N’Jadaka held up the mirror to see his right shoulder and gasped. The skin they cut off in California had been regenerated along with the claim mark. 

“We are not sure how the mark came back.” N’Jadaka whipped his head around and saw Shuri standing in the room. He put the mirror down and turned around so his body was facing her. Before he could say anything, Shuri was wrapped around him. The princess hugged him with all her might and he wrapped his arms her. He could feel her wet tears seeping into the white robe he was wearing. “I was so worried. You looked awful.” She sobbed against his chest.

“You know how to make a nigga feel good.” He joked and Shuri let out a little chuckle. “I’m aight, princess.” He placed a kiss on top of her head before looking up to see T’Challa standing behind them. The king smiled at him and N’Jadaka smiled back. “Aight girl. Enough of dat cryin’ shit,” N’Jadaka said as he stepped back. “You gotta help me break outta here.” He joked and Shuri laughed. 

“You do not need my help to do that.” She countered.

“I need you to stand on my left so yo’ brotha can’t grab me an force me to lay down in dat small ass bed.” He explained and Shuri nodded and held N’Jadaka’s hand as they moved out of the room.

“You are aware that this means you will rest in the apartment.” T’Challa explained as he followed the duo out of the medical bay.

“Nah.” 

Shuri updated N’Jadaka on everything that happened while he was unconscious, which wasn’t much. All of Wakanda was on edge after learning what happened to him and Shuri. Everyone stepped lightly to ensure their safety. Security was increased all around the palace and more cameras were installed to cover previously unknown blind spots. 

After reaching their apartment, N’Jadaka insisted on taking a shower and cleaning up. He showered and shaved before putting on a fresh pair of clothes. T’Challa tried to make him rest but N’Jadaka had some business to take care of. He promised he would be right back after he was done. 

N’Jadaka left the room and quickly made is way to the other side of the palace. He rounded the corner and wasn’t surprised to find her door unattended. N’Jadaka turned the handle and pushed the door open without asking for permission.

“Excuse you!” Romanda exclaimed as N’Jadaka entered her office. She watched as he slammed the door and stalked over to her desk.

“I knew you hated me but damn…” N’Jadaka shook his head. “I know it was you that pulled that shit in California. You planned dat shit.” He claimed and she raised an eyebrow. “Don’t worry. I ain’t told T’Challa cuz I can’t prove it, but I know it was yo’ ass. That bald headed ass nigga talked a lot of shit while he was fuckin’ me up...and he brought up how the old hoe wanted me gone…he knew exactly where to go to cut the mark off, well bitch.” N’Jadaka reached up to pull the collar of his shirt over, showing off the mark. “It didn’t work.” 

He watched as Ramonda’s eyes narrowed at him. He leaned across the desk to get in her face. “I don’t need you to admit it. I saw how badly you tripped over this mark and you wanted me gon’ but...I ain’t goin’ nowhere.” He said defiantly. “The sooner you accept that, the betta everything will be.” He said and let out a chuckle. “You ain’t runnin’ this no mo’. This is the N’Jadaka show. Do you wanna be a lead or an extra?” He questioned before straightening up. “I’ll see you at dinner, motha-in-law.” N’Jadaka teased her before turning to leave out of the room. He knew as long as Ramonda was around, he had to watch his back. He was use to doing that. He’d been watching his back since he was a child. Ramonda wasn’t going to get him, she wasn’t going to push him aside.

 

N’Jadaka smirked as he walked down the hall. This was officially his palace now.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for Reading.  
> queenielacy.tumblr.com


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